(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector having a vibration-resisting structure.
(2) Description of the Related Art
A motor vehicle mounts various electronic instruments which are connected to the motor vehicle and other electronic instruments through a wiring harness. The electronic instruments are connected to the wiring harness when connectors of the electronic instruments are coupled with those of the wiring harness.
The connector includes a connector housing and a terminal fitting to be received in the connector housing. When the connectors are coupled with each other, the respective terminal fittings in the connector housing are electrically connected to each other. Then, the wiring harness transmits electric power, control signals and so on to the electronic instruments.
Such a connector may be often used under a severe condition of vibration such as a condition in an engine room. In such a case, the connector is shaken due to the vibration causing the connector to suffer from failure in electrical continuity due to abrasion of an electrical contact of the terminal fitting.
In order to solve the above problem, various connectors have been proposed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-174813). Such a connector includes a male connector housing (hereinafter, male housing) and a female connector housing (hereinafter, female housing) which fits to the male housing. The male housing includes: a body part receiving terminal fittings; a resilient member attached to the outside of the body part; and an outer housing formed outside the body part being spaced from the body part. The male housing includes the hood-shaped body part which receives the terminal fittings.
After the body part of the female housing enters between the body part of the male housing and the outer housing, then the male and female housings fit to each other. The resilient member is positioned between the outside of the body part of the male housing and the inside of the body part of the female housing. Then, an end part of the female housing presses one end part of the resilient member near the male housing, while a projection formed on an inner surface at the base end part-side of the body part of the female housing presses an opposite end part of the resilient member.
In the connector described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-174813, the resilient member is positioned between the outside of the body part of the male housing and the inside of the body part of the female housing. Therefore, the outer housing of the male housing may be shaken due to vibration, causing the connector to suffer from failure in electrical continuity due to abrasion of an electrical contact of the terminal fitting. When things come to the worst, the terminal fitting may be damaged.